Eagles Lose LB Jason Phillips, Add Travis Long

Eagles linebacker Jason Phillips went down today with a torn ACL in his right knee and will miss the 2013 season.

The 27-year-old was added as a free agent this offseason, in large part for his special-teams prowess. Phillips led the Carolina Panthers last year with 16 special-teams tackles. Today’s injury occurred during a kickoff coverage drill.

Phillips figured to add depth behind DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks, but the Eagles will now have to look elsewhere for that.

The options on the roster are: Jamar Chaney, Casey Matthews, Emmanuel Acho and Jake Knott.

Matthews had 14 special-teams tackles last year and played for Kelly at Oregon. Chaney has experience (23 starts), but he’s squarely on the roster bubble.

Acho was acquired from the Browns in the Dion Lewis trade. He’s mixed in with the twos a little bit this week.

And Knott is a sleeper to watch. An undrafted free agent out of Iowa State, he has a legitimate shot of making the team with a strong camp and preseason.

Update: The Eagles have placed Phillips on injured reserve and added outside linebacker Travis Long. Long (6-4, 245) is an undrafted free agent out of Washington State.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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